


Awkward Tendencies

by hawker



Series: Blushing Crushes [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Awkward Crush, Bisexual Male Character, Dorks in Love, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Some Plot, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 06:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4336994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawker/pseuds/hawker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Throughout their adventures, the Warden and Alistair Theirin find themselves developing crushes on each other, Alistair making it more obvious than the Warden.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Awkward Tendencies

**Author's Note:**

> Written for someone who is as desperate as me for more bi Alistair. Honestly, it's canon to me. My OC means everything to me, and him being with Alistair is very important, okay?
> 
> Also, just for reference. My OC is very small compared to Alistair (he's like 4 inches shorter), and he's a PoC.

With a slight grin on his face, Alistair returned to the Warden holding a rose to his chest, hands covering it but not entirely. The Warden, who goes by Ramone Cousland but doesn’t usually share his name, shook his head slowly, but Alistair looked too giddy that he couldn’t pass down the offer. Alistair scratched the back of his neck when he was close enough to Ramone, cheeks red and a nervous smile smeared across his face. Ramone smiled back, and before he knew it, Alistair was tugging on his arm and gently forcing it to extend out. He looked down at the rose, and placed it into Ramone’s palm, closing his fingers to grasp onto the stem.  


Alistair coughed anxiously, filling the air with an awkward silence, and he rubbed his fingers through his hair, waiting eagerly for Ramone’s response. Ramone half-expected Alistair to add a witty saying, but he remained silent, and all that Ramone could see was the intense blushing of the poor man, along with how nervous he was. He held on tightly the rose’s stem, noticing that the thorns were cut off neatly, but he did not blurt out anything about it.  


“Thank you, Alistair. I truly appreciate it,” Ramone softly whispered, not wanting anyone else in the camp to hear their conversation. It was around the time that everyone was sleeping anyway.  


Alistair was loud, however, always rambling about something. But, he decided to explain himself, which Ramone was grateful for. It was strange to stand around and just stare at the lad without any sincere gratitude. He had to know why, especially since they didn’t exactly have a tight friendship.  


“I-I… was wandering around Lothering and I just saw it. It was the only flower that I’ve seen to survive in the dreaded bush. It reminded me of you – how you always seem to be the only one to survive in harsh conditions.” He twiddled his fingers, not even looking at Ramone, but his words were genuine.  


Ramone swallowed hard, not sure how to respond. He took it as a compliment, but he wasn’t sure why Alistair would even bother giving him the rose in the first place.  


“Are you saying that you think I’m as pretty as a rose?” Ramone blatantly asked, the thought just blurting out rather than staying in his head.  


Alistair’s eyes bulged at the question, cheeks and ears reddening. He rubbed his neck again, shuffling his feet and stammering when he spoke. “W-What drew you to that… conclusion?” His jaw clenched, and he wiped his forehead when the perspiration was starting to form. Ramone saw it all, how the lad had flinched when Ramone raised a hand or how Alistair would avoid his gaze if he assumed he said something embarrassing.  


Ramone did not choose to answer Alistair’s response. Instead, he took a step closer to him, only to result in the boy jumping back a few inches. He took another step closer, a wider step, but Alistair did not move that time. He must’ve figured out that being scared of Ramone would have created an odd relationship between them. Alistair didn’t seem to be particularly fond of people being too close to him, so he shook his head when Ramone got closer to him. They were a good few inches away from each other – they could touch each other if they reached their arms out.  


“Alistair, are you alright? You’re very –”  


“Nothing’s wrong. I have to uh… go to tent and do things... sleep things. We have a big day in Orzammar tomorrow anyway, right?” He shrugged his shoulders and quickly bolted off away from Ramone. Ramone shook his head with a quiet chuckle, but did the same thing.  


\------  


For a while, Ramone lay in his makeshift bed in the tent and thought about Orzammar, spinning visuals of the underground city in his head, imagining how tall he’d be compared to the dwarves. Just silly things that had no importance. He flipped to his right side, staring at the darkness of the tent and then seeing shadows dance across the tent from the flickering flames of the campfire. The air was humid, causing Ramone’s thick hair to stick to the back of his neck, but there was a bitter chill at the same time. He was practically breathless at the moment, air so thick that his throat was closing up, but they were normal conditions. It was Ferelden, after all. The climate was hardly ever stable, but it was livable.  


He took a deep breath, picturing Alistair giving him the rose again. Ramone did genuinely appreciate it, but he wasn’t sure how to say it in better words. There was something about Alistair that was causing Ramone to concentrate on his actions more often, but he couldn’t describe it.  


On the table by the bed, the rose was laid gently across the wooden platform. The subtle light from the campfire that shined through the crack in the tent flap was illuminating the rose’s deep red petals. Ramone stared intensely at it, feeling his cheeks gradually become warmer with the thought of Alistair’s fingers softly brushing against his own when handing him the rose.  


He probably does think I’m pretty, Ramone thought, smiling a bit. He turned to the other side and tried to rest up for the huge day ahead of him. The Deep Roads was going to be a nightmare to get through, and he knew that there was a king still needed to be decided upon from the letters that he’d been receiving, so it was going to be a long day. Perhaps it would take months just to get through it all.  


\------  


Mabari slobber had awoken the Warden, who was desperate for just a bit more shuteye. The dog had jumped all over Ramone, barking and pawing at his face with muddy paws. Ramone groaned, wiping at his face to get the mud off, but the dog just continued to lick at him and place dirty paws on him. He must’ve gone out into the woods earlier, since his entire coat was slick with mud, fresh from how wet it was, and his tongue was covered in blood. The Mabari must’ve gotten to some animal in the woods.  


Ramone rolled his eyes, gently pushing his loyal companion away from his face, only to be met with the dog’s hot breath in his face and a slobbery tongue to give him his bath for the day. There was a short laughter, but yet, it was still not an enjoyable experience. After Ramone had finally sat up in the bed, the Mabari discontinued his shenanigans, and jumped off the bed at last.  


The faithful dog barked a final time before he departed, running out through the tent flaps and finding the next companion to wake up. Ramone could hear the high pitched yelps even if the dog was on the other side of the camp, but it was one of the things he loved about the Mabari. At least Mabari were capable enough guard dogs, waking up the entire camp if any danger arose.  


With exaggerated groans, Ramone finally rolled out of the bed – nearly falling onto the ground – and sloppily replacing last night’s clothes with something fresh. It smelled fresh, anyway. He licked his fingers and smoothed back his hair, yawning on his way outside. The bright sun was the first thing to hit him, of course, and it blinded him for a moment.  


But, since all mornings were quite hectic, this one had to be the same. Ramone crashed into Alistair when he was rubbing his eyes, and the poor lad had trouble regaining his balance. There was no time to come up with a witty response as he collapsed to the ground, Ramone almost falling on top of him but managing to retain his position.  


Ramone cleared his throat from the morning gunk that stuck in there. “Alistair? Why weren’t you in your tent?” Before Alistair could answer, Ramone answered his own question. “Oh! You must be eager to get to Orzammar! You were just going to tell me that you were all set, right? Well... I’d appreciate if you gave me some extra time.” Ramone winked at Alistair, making the boy tense up and blush slightly. It forced him to shuffle to his feet and get out of the Warden’s sight.  


There was nothing else to do besides eat some sort of breakfast - anything would suffice at that point - and set off towards the Dwarven kingdom. Of course, the companions that Ramone took with him were Leliana, Alistair, and Morrigan. They happened to make a great team, if Alistair wasn't always bickering with Morrigan. Other than that, they seemed to all converse with one another just fine, often adding commentary that made Ramone laugh sometimes.  


As they walked, Alistair chose to side by Ramone, as he usually did. But, this time he was more eager about it, ignoring all the commentary that Morrigan made about him being a lost puppy and imprinting on someone else. He rolled his eyes instead of snapping back, and added a small boyish smile towards the Warden, who gave a weak smile back. The lad would blush, no matter what Ramone did.  


\------  


Upon reaching the entrance to Orzammar on the surface, several Dwarves greeted the group with an odd stare of awe or immediately jumping into the selling mode. No items were extraordinary or offered to upgrade current armor, instead they were bits and pieces of old scraps of tin smashed together to create something for the lesser travelers - those who did not encounter the sort of beasts that the Warden ran into.  


While avoiding any offer of merchandise, the group finally set off towards the opening to the underground. However, there was a bit of a delay when Alistair blurted out, "I... have to say something to you. I'm not afraid of going down, if that's what you're thinking. But it's... important." He rubbed his neck, sighing heavily and scratching the left corner of his lip. He was clearly nervous to say whatever he was about to say.  


Ramone furrowed his brows, but went along with what Alistair had to say anyway. "Are you alright? You look a little tense." Alistair nodded, but it was a very weak head bob rather than a sincere ‘yes’. Ramone rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers, swallowing a lump of air in his throat. “You had something to say? Say it already!” He didn’t mean to snap, but sometimes Alistair pulled a nerve when he acted this way – all timid and unwilling to speak when he wanted to.  


Alistair twiddled with his fingers for a while, looking down at his steel boots and digging one foot into the dirt. “Well… I… it’s actually not important I uh… exaggerated. It just had to do with… talking later… at the camp.” Ramone sighed loudly and grasped firmly onto Alistair’s shoulders, trying very hard to avoid inflict pain. His fingers slowly curled over his biceps, squeezing lightly.  


“Just take a deep breath. I don’t want to talk about this when we’re down there where ears surround us from all sides.” Ramone squeezed Alistair’s arms gently. “Stop hesitating. Tell me, what’s wrong?”  


The Warden brushed a loose strand of hair behind Alistair’s ears since it dangled ever so slightly in front of his face. The lad was soaked in sweat, his hair sticking up in all areas and damp to the point where it looks like he dumped his head in a water barrel recently. Alistair took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders to make Ramone not hold onto him anymore. Of course, his cheeks flushed to a dark red when he looked back up at the Warden after all that hesitation. He had something to say for sure, but he refrained from saying it and Ramone could not figure out why.  


“We should just talk in private when we get back from Orzammar, alright? I wouldn’t want to ruin the… mood.” He wiped his forehead of the sweat that clouded up instantly after engaging conversation with Ramone.  


The Warden raised an eyebrow. “We have time right now, y’know. I mean, the ladies aren’t paying attention so now’s your chance to talk.” He smiled at Alistair, patting his shoulder lightly to emphasize his care.  


“I… no. I can’t do this. Let’s just go.” Alistair blinked hard and walked away quickly, waiting [impatiently] by the entrance. Ramone could only sigh at the reaction to his genuine concerns, but moved on regardless of Alistair’s suspicious activities. Nothing more could be done.  


\------  


The longer they waited, the larger the anticipation grew to be. Morrigan and Leliana set off towards the marketplace to find something fitting for their fighting class, and Alistair couldn’t stop gazing at the assortments of cheeses that the Dwarves had sprawled out next to him. They were already in Orzammar, the lot of them, but they were awaiting an entrance into Harrowmount’s present dwelling. It was typical how they arrived in the middle of some large events – Ramone always having to be the one to deal with it.  


Once they went through the meeting, Ramone only half paying attention to what was being said until fighting was mentioned, and that was when he accepted the offer of fighting on behalf of Harrowmount in the Proving. Ramone was always one for a good brawl, especially if that brawl included the use of his daggers (handed down to him from a lone wanderer on the streets of Redcliffe – said to have magical abilities).  


However, he wasn’t able to go into the Proving yet, especially since it was a couple days away and Ramone hadn’t slept a wink since they got to Orzammar. He’s been awake for a few consecutive days, occasionally laying his head on one of the companion’s shoulders – mostly Alistair – but never sleeping. They were always up and about, trying to discover new quests and helping those who were in need. Morrigan was the one to convince the young Warden to take a break and finally catch some shuteye, since he wouldn’t have been able to perform well at the Proving if he was half awake.  


It wasn’t necessary to find an extremely comfortable bed that screamed ‘luxury’, yet Ramone would drag his companions around for hours just to find the bed that he would doze off in within a minute. He was picky about where he slept – alleyways were definitely out of the question. Once he found something, he immediately curled underneath the blankets – armor on and all – completely ignoring his companions as they made disgusted noises and sighed loudly.  


Ramone almost fell asleep until Alistair tapped on his shoulder, mostly touching the metal of the pad, but it was loud enough to startle the Warden. He whispered something, it was hard to pick up when half awake, but it was pretty clear.  


“I wanted to tell you this earlier, but now that everyone is gone and you can barely understand me, so I think it’s easiest to say it now,” Alistair muttered. He paused to swallow a large dollop of air. “You mean so much to me, and… I just wanted to let you know, even if you can’t hear it, that I do… wish… that you’d tell me how you felt about me… at least. Everyone knows how I… feel about you.” He paused again, taking a deep breath. “I like you… a lot.” He leaned down to plant a kiss on Ramone’s forehead.  


Before he could scurry away, Ramone quickly cupped Alistair’s cheek in his palm, watching the lad blush wildly and seeing his eyes bulge from the realization that Ramone did in fact, hear every word. Alistair blinked hard, and attempted to smile. But he ended up giggling and eventually, he bent his head downwards and gently pressed his lips against Ramone’s in a slow and tender motion. The Warden’s hand slowly slid off Alistair’s cheek as he eased into it, exerting more pressure into the kiss since Alistair made it somewhat weak.  


Neither of them was experienced in kisses, both never being involved with another person. But, it was perfect to them since they knew no better. Ramone’s fingers were digging in Alistair’s hair, with Alistair trying his best at attempting to use his tongue. It wasn’t really working out as he might’ve planned, since Ramone had no clue what to do either, so he sloppily went along with it. Finally, after a long round of kissing, or at least what they considered to be kissing, Alistair pulled away and bumped his forehead against the Warden’s, breathing heavily and unsteadily.  


“I… didn’t think that would happen. I’m sorry for –“  


“Don’t apologize, okay? I’ve wanted for you to do that for so long.” He ran his fingers through Alistair’s hair, and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “I... I like you too.”


End file.
